INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Indiana will receive a $10.4 million emergency grant to help retrain recreational vehicle industry workers who lost their jobs because of layoffs caused by the struggling economy and high gasoline prices, Gov. Mitch Daniels said.
Eligible displaced workers can receive up to $6,000 to enter a program to earn an associate degree or industry-recognized certificate in a program connected to high-need occupations.
More than 1,800 workers have been laid off in Elkhart County in recent weeks at RV makers Monaco Coach Corp., Keystone RV Co. and Pilgrim International.
According to figures from the Indiana Department of Workforce Development, about 6,000 RV workers filed unemployment claims from July 19 to Aug. 16, but it was not clear how many of those were permanently dislocated and thus eligible for retraining.
The federal Department of Labor grant was in addition to a $3 million grant that was previously announced.
"We'll be able to help a large number of workers receive the training they need to be qualified for other jobs in Indiana, such as those already available in the orthopedics industry in Warsaw," Daniels said Wednesday in a statement.
Any RV industry worker in Indiana permanently dislocated from his or her job is eligible to apply. Displaced workers can apply for the financial assistance, called an Individual Training Account, at a WorkOne center.